Digital still cameras (DSCs) that perform imaging using an imaging device such as a CCD (charge coupled device) instead of photographic film are rapidly becoming increasingly popular, and offer continual major improvements in functions, performance, and image quality. In recent years, the market for digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) targeting professional and advanced-amateur users, in particular, has shown remarkable growth. Many cameras positioned as such high-end models are provided with a RAW (unprocessed) imaging mode in addition to the commonly used JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) imaging mode.
RAW imaging mode is an imaging mode in which image information captured by a CCD, CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor), LiveMOS (registered trademark), or suchlike imaging device is recorded as almost unprocessed data (hereinafter referred to as “RAW data”). For example, CCD unprocessed image information is called CCD-RAW data. Compared with JPEG data that has undergone processing and compression processing, RAW data is larger in size but has the advantage of not being susceptible to image degradation due to missing information. Therefore, RAW imaging mode enables a photographic image, to be kept at the highest image quality that a camera has by recording a photographic image as RAW data.
A further advantage is that, when image adjustment (retouching) is executed on RAW data by providing various correction parameters after imaging, an image can be adjusted without breakdown over a much wider adjustment range than in the case of JPEG data. With JPEG data, since information is already missing, not only is the possible image quality adjustment range narrow, but also, depending on the adjustment content, there may be a sense of unnaturalness in terms of overall representation. For these reasons, not a few users of high-end digital still camera models prefer to use RAW imaging mode.
At present, however, manufacturers use their own proprietary data formats for RAW data. As a result, it is not possible for a user of a RAW imaging mode equipped camera to view RAW data directly via a general-purpose viewer on a personal computer, print RAW data on a general-purpose printer, or ask a general photographic printing company to print RAW data.
Thus, software is available on the market that converts RAW data to general-purpose still-image data for viewing or printing use, such as JPEG data, or to an actual viewable image (hereinafter referred to as “RAW development”). Such software is called RAW development software.
However, since RAW development software imposes a heavy processing load on a CPU (central processing unit), an information processing apparatus with considerable processing capability is necessary in order to perform RAW development using RAW development software. An information processing apparatus of this kind is normally expensive and has a large footprint, and is thus not easily provided by an individual.
Thus, a technology whereby RAW data captured on the user side is transmitted to a high-processing-capability server provided on a service provider's side, and development processing is performed in an intensive fashion by the server, has been described in Patent Document 1, for example.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory drawing showing the configuration and RAW development flow of a conventional development system.
Development system 10 has development server 20, which is an apparatus on the development service provision side, and development client 30, which is an apparatus on the user side. Development client 30 can access a recording medium such as a memory card used for RAW data recording by a digital still camera, and can communicate with development server 20.
Development client 30 first reads RAW data to be developed from a memory card or suchlike recording medium (S41), and transmits the read RAW data to development server 20 together with information relating to imaging conditions (S42). Development server 20 receives this RAW data (S43), performs development of the RAW data based on the imaging conditions, and generates image data such as JPEG data (S44).
Thus, a user can perform RAW development without providing a high-processing-capability information processing apparatus on the user side by having RAW development processing performed by a server.
A technology whereby an image is automatically adjusted to a color shade that tends to be judged to be pleasing to the human eye (hereinafter referred to as “memory color”) is described in Patent Document 2, for example. By applying the technology described in Patent Document 2 to development processing by a development server, it becomes possible for a user to perform RAW development with an image quality generally deemed to be acceptable.
However, when image quality setting is performed automatically in this way, only an image of a standardized image quality can be obtained based on imaging conditions, and there is consequently little scope for a user to arbitrarily specify image quality for development.
Thus, a technology whereby development-time image quality is specified arbitrarily from the development client side has been described in Patent Document 3, for example. With the technology described in Patent Document 3, intuitive terminological expressions and keywords that can be easily handled even by a general user are associated in advance with correction parameter adjustment content. By applying the technology described in Patent Document 3 to development processing by a development server, it becomes possible for a user to specify development-time image quality arbitrarily.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-165797    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-133875    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-234916